Not Even a Grain of Rice

Christine Hippert is professor of anthropology in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Not Even a Grain of Rice effectively interweaves the dynamic interaction between moral economy and food provisioning. At the same time Hippert shows that these “emergent moralities” are also evidence that “perpetual indebtedness is not only a middle-class norm” problem (p. 96) and that both colmado owners and customers remain in largely precarious economic situations. Her insightful ethnography should be of interest to scholars of food security, global migration, development and livelihoods, debt and inequality, and cultural anthropology more generally

• Introduction: “Not Even a Grain of Rice:” Living and Working in a Precarious Place Chapter One: “I’m Not a Racist, But…:” Friction, Anti-Haitianism, and Everyday Intercultural Relations in Cabarete Chapter Two : “Everything is Cheaper at the Supermarket, But I Can’t Afford It:” Colmados as a Total Social Phenomenon Chapter Three : “Pa’ la Dignidad:” Fiao and the Emergent Moralities of Being Responsible Chapter Four : “The Door Is Always Open…Until It Isn’t:” The Hidden Labor of Becoming Gente Responsable Conclusion: “Fíame, Por Favor:” Ties that Bind in Cabarete